المنتدى العالمي المعني بالأمن الغذائي والتغذية

1.      General comments on the Draft of the Rome Declaration on Nutrition.      

This global forum is interesting and promising, as it seriously aims to manage the crucial issue of food security and nutrition which represents a global threat. It is comprehensive enough to account for multiple factors and threats for malnutrition, different population and age groups that are affected by the crisis and a multidisciplinary envisioned action plan.

2.     Specific comments on the paragraphs related to the multiple threats that malnutrition poses to sustainable development (paragraphs 4-10).

10 (c):

• Over two billion of people, particularly children, pregnant women and women with childbearing age, suffer from micronutrient deficiencies, such as vitamin A, iodine, iron, zinc, and vitamin D.
• Suboptimal early feeding practices (low breastfeeding rates and early introduction of complementary feeding), particularly in developing countries, that fall below global recommendations.

3.     Specific comments on the vision for global action to end all forms of malnutrition (paragraphs 11-12).

None.

4.     Specific comments in the appropriate fields relating to these commitments (paragraph 13):

Commitment a): eradicate hunger and all forms of malnutrition, particularly to eliminate stunting, wasting and overweight in children under 5 and anemia in women; eliminating undernourishment and reversing rising trends in obesity;

None.

Commitment b): reshape food systems through coherent implementation of public policies and investment plans throughout food value chains to serve the health and nutrition needs of the growing world population by providing access to safe, nutritious and healthy foods in a sustainable and resilient way;

None.

Commitment c): take leadership to shape and manage food systems and improve nutrition by strengthening institutional capacity, ensuring adequate resourcing and coordinating effectively across sectors;

None.

Commitment d): encourage and facilitate contributions by all stakeholders in society and promote collaboration within and across countries, including North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation;

None.

Commitment e): enhance people’s nutrition, including people with special needs, through policies and initiatives for healthy diets throughout the life course, starting from the early stages of life, before and during pregnancy, promoting and supporting adequate breast feeding and appropriate complementary feeding, healthy eating by families, and at school during childhood;

None.

Commitment f): adopt and implement a Framework for Action that should be used to monitor progress in achieving targets and fulfilling commitments;

None.

Commitment g): integrate the objectives of the Framework for Action into the post-2015 development agenda including a possible global goal on food security and nutrition.

None.

5.     We would also appreciate your vision on policies, programmes and investment that might help translate such commitments into action.

• Promote sustainable agriculture and community development: encourage research and education on healthy diets (if adequate, traditional foods- depending on the country and the respective culture).
• Address food companies/industries and social media for nutritionally-sensitive production of foods and for implementation of responsible marketing and advertisement of foods.
• Promote initiatives for water conservation and the efficient use of water to minimize losses, as most of the MENA region is short of arable lands.
• Endorse Baby Friendly Hospitals and adequate complementary feeding in developing countries.
• Incorporate food security in research and education programs of universities that will bridge issues of food, agriculture, and nutrition.